A downloadable game

Overview

In On Trial, you will roleplay a courtroom scenario. However, these cases you will participate in are so ridiculous that no lawyer will assist you, regardless of if you are the prosecutor or the defendant. Therefore, you must take up these roles yourselves. As the prosecutor or defendant, you will use your cards to construct elaborate and bizarre arguments for the defendant’s guilt or innocence as you attempt to persuade the other players in the jury. Your goal: be the first player to get a credibility score of 25 or more. If you win, you will have the pleasure of watching your opponents get locked away while you are set free!

About the Game

On Trial was originally designed as part of our first-year coursework at Swinburne University, in response to a brief supplied by Swinburne’s law faculty. As such, earlier iterations were tailored to their specifications. However, with the other designers' permission, I did tinker with the cards a bit outside of university, so the cards are a little less classroom-friendly. Its gameplay was inspired by roleplaying games and party games like Cards Against Humanity, while the reminder text for various mechanics was adopted from trading card games like Magic: The Gathering.

Next, while this game is inspired by real legal systems, it is not an accurate reflection of them. The scoring system for the game has vast differences from the real-life consequences of a particular case. You should also not engage in corruption, or plead not guilty due to insanity in an effort to get out of prison; you will be caught if you’re faking. On Trial is just a game and meant to be for fun, but if it does contribute to an interest in law or games, then awesome.